The present invention relates generally to heating systems in vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a heating system utilizing the exhaust gases from a vehicle's engine.
Automotive vehicles having large interior compartments, such as buses, are difficult to heat, particularly in colder temperatures. Typically, the interior of the vehicle is heated by extracting heat from the vehicle's engine. However, in large automotive vehicles such as buses, this method is insufficient because the engine requires a prolonged amount of time to warm up. Frequently, the bus has to idle for upwards of 30-minutes before the engine is sufficiently warmed up, which consumes an excessive amount of fuel. Further, once the engine is warmed up, the amount of heat extracted from the engine is frequently insufficient to warm the large interior compartment.
Warming up the engine quickly, thus warming up the large interior compartment quickly, is beneficial for the passengers. Additionally, quickly warming up the engine in colder climates improves engine performance and engine life.
The problem of slow engine warm-up and insufficient heating of the large interior compartment has been addressed by adding fuel-fired heaters. Fuel-fired heaters are devices that take fuel from the fuel tank and that combust the fuel to derive heat. The resulting heat is used to heat up the coolant, which in turn provides heat for the interior compartment. However, there are disadvantages to using fuel-fired heaters, including containing an open flame within the heater, providing a housing on the chassis for the heater, providing the fluid conduits to and from the heater, and the high cost of manufacture.
Heat exchangers are also sometimes added to the engine exhaust system to remove heat from the exhaust gas and transfer it to the water or coolant circuit. However, for larger vehicles, such as buses, the heat exchangers are often insufficient because the normal engine exhaust temperatures are not high enough to adequately heat the large interior compartment.
Thus, there is a need for a heating system that provides an adequate amount of heat to a large interior compartment.
There is also a need for a heating system that warms up the large interior compartment in a short period of time.
There is a further need for a heating system that is of simple design and that can be inexpensively installed on a large vehicle.